Understanding Index Sets & Union of Sets

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the concepts of index sets and unions of sets within the context of set theory. Participants are exploring the definitions and implications of these concepts, particularly in relation to a specific example involving real and rational numbers.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking, Exploratory

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are attempting to understand the definition of an index set and how it relates to the union of sets. Questions arise about the uniqueness of sets in the family and the interpretation of the union notation. Some participants provide examples to illustrate their points, while others seek clarification on specific terms and definitions.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants providing insights and examples to clarify their understanding. Some have expressed confusion regarding the definitions and the relationship between the sets and their union, while others have offered explanations and corrections. There is no explicit consensus, but the dialogue is constructive and aimed at deepening understanding.

Contextual Notes

Participants are navigating through definitions and examples, with some expressing uncertainty about the terminology and notation used in set theory. There are indications of varying levels of familiarity with the subject matter, and some participants are still developing their language skills in English.

annoymage
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Homework Statement



1.Given a set T we say that T serves as an index set for family F={Aa} of sets if for every a in T there exists a set Aa in family F.

2. By the union of the sets Aa, where a is in T, we mean the set
{x l x\inAa for at least one a in T}. We shall denote it by \bigcup(a\inT) Aa.

i think its better if i show example

example:

if S is the set of real number, T is the set of rational number, let, for

a\inT, Aa = {x\inS l x\geqa}

so \bigcup(a\inT) Aa = S

what i don't understand

i can see how ..,A-1, A0, A1 ,... is,

and i don't know how to change it to
\bigcup(a\inT) Aa
or how it is equal to S, because I am perplexed with definition (2) particularly x\inAa for at least one a in T

help help

p/s: sorry if it is abit messy, still progressing in latex
 
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annoymage said:

Homework Statement



1.Given a set T we say that T serves as an index set for family F={Aa} of sets if for every a in T there exists a set Aa in family F.
Doesn't the definition say "for every a in T there exists exactly one set Aa in family F"?

2. By the union of the sets Aa, where a is in T, we mean the set
{x l x\inAa for at least one a in T}. We shall denote it by \bigcup(a\inT) Aa.

i think its better if i show example

example:

if S is the set of real number, T is the set of rational number, let, for

a\inT, Aa = {x\inS l x\geqa}

so \bigcup(a\inT) Aa = S

what i don't understand

i can see how ..,A-1, A0, A1 ,... is,
Do you mean what those sets are?
A-1 is, by this definition, the set of all real numbers greater than or equal to 0: \{x| x\ge -1\}= [-1, \infty). A_0= [0, \infty), etc.

and i don't know how to change it to
\bigcup(a\inT) Aa
What do you mean "change" it to that? They are not the same at all- one is a collection of sets, the other is the union of all those- the set of all numbers in anyone of them.

or how it is equal to S, because I am perplexed with definition (2) particularly x\inAa for at least one a in T
That simply means "x is in at least one of those sets". The union of a collection of sets is, as usual, the set of all members of any of the sets in the collection.

help help

p/s: sorry if it is abit messy, still progressing in latex

In this particular case, since, given any real number x, there exist a rational number, r< x, x\in A_r for that particular r. Since every real number is in at least one of those sets, S is just the set of all real numbers.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It's quite simple really, just a lot of fancy notation.
So, you got a bunch of As, each contains a bunch of x's. Get all the unique x's, from all the A's and put them together into a new set. This new set is S. It contains all the x's such that each x belongs it some of the A's.

I hope it helps.
 
HallsofIvy said:
Doesn't the definition say "for every a in T there exists exactly one set Aa in family F"?

no, i copy this from "Topic in Algebra, Herstien",
but yea, the "there exist a set" confuses me, like, for every a , there's maybe other branches of set.
ok, i'll follow "exactly one".
HallsofIvy said:
Do you mean what those sets are?
A-1 is, by this definition, the set of all real numbers greater than or equal to 0: \{x| x\ge -1\}= [-1, \infty). A_0= [0, \infty), etc.

yes, yes, that's what i mean, I'm still progressing in english, so, correct me if I'm wrong along the way.
HallsofIvy said:
What do you mean "change" it to that? They are not the same at all- one is a collection of sets, the other is the union of all those- the set of all numbers in anyone of them.

my mistake

HallsofIvy said:
In this particular case, since, given any real number x, there exist a rational number, r< x, x\in A_r for that particular r. Since every real number is in at least one of those sets, S is just the set of all real numbers.

ok, so i confused here,

A(-1)=[-1,oo), A(0)=[0,oo], A(1)=[1,oo),.. these are the sets,

"Since every real number is in at least one of those sets"

so, let 1 for example, A(2) don't have {1}?

correct me please,

now i need to sleep, its 5am here still not sleeping

thanks in advance
 
HallsofIvy said:
That simply means "x is in at least one of those sets". The union of a collection of sets is, as usual, the set of all members of any of the sets in the collection.

now i woke up, i get it already. thank you very much :D
 

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